Don't Miss This New Information About Your Bones!

Peter Attia recently had Belinda Beck, a researcher on bones and osteoporosis, on his podcast.

Here's what you might not know about bone health:

Osteoporosis is often called a childhood disease!

Most people reach their maximum bone potential in their late teens. After that, the best we can do is reduce the rate it declines.

Children can grow strong bones by

• getting enough calcium--you can get most of what you need from 8.5 ounces 3 times a day --1000 mg of calcium a day and vitamin D so you can absorb it. Most milk is D-fortified.

• exercising vigorously outside. The bone stimulation comes from the bones bending from moving in various directions.

• strength training when they reach an age that they're interested in it and have the attention span for it. That's especially critical for children who have been treated with steroids for asthma. Strength training doesn't affect bone growth plates.

Genes determine 70-80% of the bone that you'll have. Look at your parents and grandparents to get an idea of what your risk is like.

Attia suggested that we all have a baseline bone density scan at around age 49 to accurately estimate bone loss in the future.

Walking and running aren't strengthening your bones! 🤯

Neither do yoga, pilates, cycling, or swimming.

This one surprised me.

I thought my running was keeping my bones strong. My sprint day counts because there's more impact. Good running technique doesn't pound the ground if you're running distances.

The loading your bones need requires strong muscle movements or sports like soccer, volleyball, and basketball that move in multiple directions, along with jumping.

Strength training is enormously effective for bone strength!

Dr. Beck's study had the control group do walking, stretching, bodyweight lunges. toe raises, and things that might improve their balance.

The exercise group did strength training with free weights, lifting heavy weight that was doable with good form.

• The strength training group gained about 3% improvement in bone density at the spine, while the control group lost 1-1.5%.

• The control group shrank, but the intervention group grew a little taller (0.5 cm)! Their posture improvement made them significantly taller than the control group--in only 8 months.

Posture is important to fall risk because about half the time you fall, you'll fracture.

When you're rounded over, your vision is angled down and you lose peripheral vision. You might not see a car rounding the corner or a child running into your path.

That lack of visual input is similar to the lack of sensory input that comes with hearing loss, which contributes to dementia.

Free weights improve balance, dramatically reducing fall risk--more muscle, more balance, more motor control.

Gripping weights creates stronger grip strength that could make a difference in your ability to grab a handrail and prevent falling down the stairs.

The most significant improvement was quality of life!

These comments inspired Dr. Beck to open her osteoporosis clinic:

"I’ve basically got my life back; I can get into the garden and I can push the wheelbarrow full of potting mix around now, and I don’t feel like I’m going to break."

"I can lift my grandchild again."

"My husband is hiking the Kokoda trail and I just thought I was going to be cheerleading; I can go with him now. "

“I think this is a remarkable demonstration of the power of exercise. It is the most potent drug available.”‒ Peter Attia

Belinda adds, “Show me a bone drug that does all that.”

Amen!